Cher did not remove her ribs, There’s a certain shocking rumor that’s
dogged many a female starlet (plus Marilyn Manson) from as far back as
the eighties. First attached to Cher, the rumor goes that she had her
two bottom ribs removed in surgery to create a smaller, more petite
waist. Cher fiercely denied the rumor – and in 1990 a physician backed
her up after taking a look at her to check – but it continued all the
same, and eventually was repeated about other celebrities, like Kate
Moss, Elizabeth Taylor and Britney Spears.Celebrities have plastic surgery all the time, of
course (and it’s not just celebrities now either!). Cher has even
admitted to having work done on her teeth, nose and breasts. And using
artificial means to get the appearance of a smaller waist go back much
farther than the eighties – the corsets the Victorians wore, anyone? So
with that in mind, it seems a lot less far fetched to suggest that some
of the iconically slim celebrities we know and love might have had their
ribs removed. We can inflate breasts, shorten toes and split our
tongues in half – what’s to say we can’t pluck out a rib or two as well?

Britney, looking slim and svelte.The TruthThe
thing we all want to know is it true? Well, yes and no. There is no
evidence whatsoever that any of the starlets accused of removing their
ribs have actually done so – and if we take Cher’s physician at her
word, quite a bit of evidence aginst it. For example, in the case of
Britney Spears, I think we can now conclude after watching her
fluctuating weight for the past five or six years, that her ribs all
remain in tact. However, though the rumored celebrities may have never
had it done, rib removal surgery is a real thing.

Many believe
that the practice of rib removal surgery began with the corset-loving
Victorians, but there is no evidence to suggest this (and many experts
on Victorian fashion and aesthetics disregard the entire belief, deeming
it silly). In the modern era however, it’s real. Considered an extreme
practice by most, and with extremely few formally documented cases, it
is indeed possible to shrink somebody’s waist by surgically removing
their lowest two ribs. It is a permanent, irreversible procedure – ribs
don’t grow back. Somewhat more common (though still rare) is a procedure
called “rib resection” – a section of rib is removed, sometimes to
treat cancer or a similarly damaging disease, or to obtain bone for a
bone graft.

Very few plastic surgeons will perform rib removal
surgery, so if you’re looking to lose weight the surgical way it’s a
better bet to place your hopes on liposuction instead.